Saving Water
by Robert D. Vines PE, C.P.M.
Note – Robert is on the Advisory Board of Directors of the Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition, one of the Zoo’s most important education partners.
El Paso receives sixty percent of its water from two large aquifers. An extensive analysis by Dr. Alex Mayer at UTEP indicates that we will run out of this water in between 31 and 42 years.
Recognizing this condition, El Paso Water is planning several actions to deal with this eventuality, including further filtering sewer water to drinking water standards and importing water from Del City. Both of these will add significant costs to our water. The best solution, therefore, is for citizens to use less water. Here are some techniques that could significantly reduce our demand for city water.
Replace old toilets with low flush – Older toilets use as much as 6 gallons of water per flush. Modern toilets can use as little as 1.5 gallons.
Install Water Sense Shower Heads and Faucet Aerators. -These water misers could save a typical household 3,400 gallons of water per year. They are often available for free from utility Companies as they also save energy used to heat the hot water.
Switch to refrigerated air conditioning from evaporative cooling. – Evaporative cooling typically uses between 7 and 11 gallons of water per hour. That can add to an enormous demand for clean, fresh water.
Stop watering Plants – Replace plants that require water in your yard with native plants. Trees are lovely, but trees that provide a canopy don’t grow in the desert without water. Non-native trees can require over 100 gallons of water per day. Plant native trees instead.
Stop Mowing –Watering a typical lawn for one hour uses more than 1,000 gallons of water. Gas-powered mowers also produce greenhouse gases. Gravel lawns with a mix of native plants can be an attractive alternative.
Stop Using the Sink Garbage Disposal – Remember, everything that goes down your drain has to be removed by someone else as they recycle the water.
Waste Less Water – No wait for hot water. – Much water is wasted while customers wait for hot water. Instead, there are several companies making a little pump that usually goes under the most remote sink. Activating it recirculates the normally wasted water back into the hot water tank. Here are three companies making these devices: Metlund Demand, TacoGenie, and Aquamotion.
Rainwater Harvesting – Rainwater eventually flows into the Rio Grande, which farmers use to grow food for us. Therefore, it is difficult to justify harvesting that rainwater if it is used to water non-native plants. However, this is one method to eliminate using drinking water to water plants.
Photos
Cover – Marco Verch, Wikimedia Creative Commons
Top – GRID-Arendal, Wikimedia Creative Commons
Toilet – Charles & Hudson, Wikimedia Creative Commons
Air Conditioner – Achim Hering, Wikimedia Creative Commons
Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition 